The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus which manages a plurality of image data in an image storage unit, and searches for the image data managed in the image storage unit, and its control method.
Conventionally, when an image processing apparatus, which manages image data obtained by reading natural images using, e.g., a scanner, searches for image data, since it is hard to realize an image recognition technique for image data, a search directly using the image data cannot be made. For this reason, it is a common practice to add a word combination and keyword which indicate that image data upon reading image data, and to use the word combination and keyword added to the image data upon searching for image data. The search results of the image data are normally sorted and displayed in the order of attributes such as search matching rates, date, and the like obtained by the search.
However, in place of the sort & display function of the search results based on information inevitably encountered upon searching by the conventional image processing apparatus, a function that can sort and display search results on the basis of criteria that the many users show interest in, or by giving higher priority to frequently viewed images, i.e., on the basis of values added in the order that reflects the interests of the users, has been demanded.